That’s it, the first month of the year! Whether you have any specific plans for the year or let things flow, I’m sure you always have plenty to do, and I wish you all the best :)
Calligraphy
This year I hope to realize some plans that have been delayed (more about that below) and during the first week I already had a chance to follow a spontaneous call of a creative energy in a form of a calligraphy workshop :D
Calligraphy was kind of a mystery to me, but now it’s a new friend!
I followed a half day workshop at an Institute of Adult Education. We used traditional calligraphy pens which had to be refilled manually (like, every 10 minutes for me), and I found the whole thing was so fascinating. I’m looking forward to continuing with calligraphy!
Stockholm
Some other things I recently learned came from the places I love: the museums. Just before the new year, I visited Stockholm, Sweden, and went to a couple of museums, one of them was ABBA museum. I like to sing and dance along their songs, and of course I wanted to see the exhibition because I write songs.
There are mementos, from a cassette to a car (or a helicopter, if you like!), as well as interactive games and spots for selfie. One particular thing that I found special was a quote from Björn Ulvaeus (one of the ‘B’s’ of ABBA) found on the wall:“… You have to take everything that lands in your head (that’s how it feels) seriously. However foolish it may seem at first glance…” Hm, I think I know what he meant! :D
The famous ABBA costume designed for the Eurovision.
The museum offered plenty to learn in every corner.
I also visited the Museum of Mediterranean and Near Eastern Antiquities close to the Old Town Center of Stockholm. Exceeding my expectations, this museum displays a wide array of artifacts from the cultures around the Mediterranean sea. I enjoyed exploring this museum, especially as there were plenty of jewelry on display, starting from Roman jewelry to Egyptian beads.
They made these 4000 years ago :O
Antique Mummy beads from Egypt.
Wide varieties of objects on displays.
The museum also has a beautiful cafe and shop. It’s usually almost impossible for me to buy anything from a souvenir shop, but I got excited there and bought a few Egyptian glass decorations as well as a strand of what was labelled as ‘Mummy beads’. I’m pretty sure each glass decor was made out of pieces of glass that were fused into a form of flower, but I wasn’t sure what the Mummy beads were made out of. I asked and the staff member couldn’t really give any information, except that it’s made out of some kind of clay.
I bought some souvenirs: Mummy beads (left) & several glass decoration (right)
So, left with unanswered questions, I searched online and found out about ‘Faience’. From Wikipedia: “Egyptian faience is a sintered-quartz ceramic displaying surface vitrification which creates a bright lustre of various colours, with blue-green being the most common…”
Then more info from a dictionary: “glazed ceramic ware, in particular decorated tin-glazed earthenware of the type that includes delftware and maiolica.”
I’m still unsure of what the Mummy beads are made out of, but here’s my best guess: the beads were made out of clay, and the glazing happened naturally because of some kind of oxides that comes to the surface. What I know for sure is that these beads are contemporary and mass produced as souvenir.
Last minute info added
Then… Just as I took pictures of the beads above, I found a little piece of paper in the bag, which I thought first was the receipt. It apparently has some info about the Mummy beads, which if translated (Google) says: “In the former Egypt, this type of necklace was used. They were made of ceramic beads, so-called mummy beads, which were burned in different colors. This necklace is made by hand in Egypt in the same way as in Pharaoh’s time.” I think my best guess was good! It’s quite funny to get more info just last minute before I completed this post.
The strand of Mummy beads and faience have inspired me, let’s see what’s coming out of these!
So yeah. I love museums. A pop band or mummies, there’s always something to learn!
My Online Studio is Coming
Talking about learning, I mentioned above that I hope to continue with my delayed plans. Last year I lost my father, and took a break from several things, although I kept working and traveling. These days I’ve picked up again creating new silver jewelry from silver clay which the step-by-step lessons would be available on my Online Studio. There’s still massive amount of work to do but I’m so excited and to give you a sneak peak, here below is one of the pieces that will be a part of the project:
“Slash” is one of the projects that will be a part of my online studio.
My future project tutorials can come in the form of downloadable eBooks, online videos or something else. It’s all about having quality creative time while learning to make timeless and elegant silver jewelry. Getting our hands on fun projects which at the same time offer some challenges (good ones! :D)
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I look forward to connecting and sharing delightful creative moment with you! Thank you and hope you enjoyed this post.
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